Higher education is the object of many criticisms, as the
contributors to this book ably explain. Although Birnbaum and
Shushok show that higher education has been considered to be in
“crisis” about many of the same issues since at least
the 1970s (finance, confidence, curriculum, stagnation, diversity
and leadership), the level of criticism has reached new heights in
recent years. Some of the critiques focus on trends that
affect the whole society, including higher education’s
responses to technological change, demographic changes and
globalization. Some critiques focus on more internal issues,
such as teaching methods, curriculum, and expenses. The
authors make several observations that are helpful in understanding
this thicket of criticisms. First, most of them are concerned
with prestigious research universities and elite liberal arts
colleges. These colleges enroll a minority of students
although their intellectual, cultural, and economic power is
great. Secondly, much of the criticism comes from within
academe, as well as without. Third, and perhaps most
important, the critics make opposing claims. For example, the
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Leonard BairdThe Ohio State UniversityE-mail AuthorLEONARD L. BAIRD is Professor of Educational Policy and Leadership at The Ohio State University, and Editor of the Journal of Higher Education. Professor Baird spent most of the first half of his career as a research psychologist at the American College Testing Program and the Educational Testing Service. He was Professor in the Higher Education program at the University of Kentucky before joining OSU. His major interests and publications concern graduate education, college environments, the assessment of college outcomes, and the study of the impact of college on students.